How do you choose the best web designer when you know almost nothing about website design, what you need and how to build it?

This article will help you make an informed decision instead of just selecting the first web designer you find.

7 steps for choosing the best web designer:

1. Know the purpose of your website

Before searching for a web designer it’s a good idea to know what you want your website to do for your business. It will help the designer to know your needs. These are some questions to ask yourself:

• Do you want to generate leads?
• Do you want to an online presence for your offline store?
• Do you wish to sell products and/or services?
• Do you want to interact with your customers?
• Do you want to build long term relationships?

2. Experienced professional

There are many amateur designers who want to become professional. The problem is they don’t have many years of experience. For example they may create a pretty design but don’t know how to create search engine friendly pages. Look for a designer that has several years of experience, the more the better. Visit their website to see the portfolio of websites they have already designed.

3. Qualifications

By viewing their portfolio you have a good idea of the types of websites they have built, however some amateur designers will simply get a template, modify it a little then charge you for a complete design. A professional web designer should at least have these skill requirements:

• html/xhtml
• cascading style sheets (CSS)
• javascript
• graphic design
• ecommerce design
• php script installation and customization
• search engine optimization
• email marketing
• FTP

Other design qualifications

CIW (Certified Internet Web Professional) is the world’s leading Web technology certification and curriculum program. The Master CIW Designer Certification shows the designer has taken the time and made the investment to become a Master Designer. You can’t go wrong if you find a designer that has been awarded this certification.

5. Testimonials

Reading the recommendations from clients shows these clients trust in the designer’s services. Visit the designer’s website to read the testimonials. Ask for them if you don’t see them.

6. Pricing

This is going to be all over the map because it depends on the complexity of the work involved and who is doing it. An online store is containing 100s of products is going to cost more than a 5 page html website. A corporate design firm with many employees is going to charge more than a freelance web designer because they have to pay out salaries. Ask for a preliminary proposal from the designer before hiring him or her.

7. Ask for a contract

The contract should clearly state what’s involved in the design of the website, prices, maintenance and hosting fees. It should also include who owns the website and the timetable for completion.

If your web designer fulfills all these requirements, is friendly, helpful, polite and easy to work then go for it. You have made an informed decision that you will be happy with.

Search Engine Optimization is a strategy that helps businesses enjoy better visibility. Visibility is very important since it makes it possible for the business to reach out to the right people with the right message for the right reactions. It increases the ranking of the business website on search engines to attract and also retain visitors for the sake of the business. The retention increases sales conversion possibilities and this is good for business. It also creates the potential for repeat customers, valuable for any businesses.

SEO is part of web marketing, but many other strategies can also be employed to make the marketing as rewarding as it should be. Internet users use search engines to find what they want and any business with a strong online presence is becoming easy to notice. It is important to remember that most of the users will never get past the first page of search results and to be easily noticed, your business has to make it to the highest possible ranking on the results. Those who continue looking without changing the search keyword will go probably up to the third page then make a change.

In as much as social media has taken over in marketing, web marketing still enjoys a huge chunk, especially from very serious customers who want to get all details to aid a purchase in a short period of time. Using SEO web marketing, you will notice an increase in traffic to your site. The strategy will also help in improving your brand credibility since most consumers trust the results that they get from the search engines such as Google. They consider the top information reliable and will easily trust your brand if you rank high.

The services

Web marketing services are handled differently to achieve the best results. The SEO companies will use keyword density, Meta tags and inbound links to make the marketing process easy and fruitful for your business. The content that is on the website also plays an important role in the success of web marketing hence making it important to remain relevant and interesting. You can enjoy content writing services to ensure that your website is good enough for all your visitors easily giving them the information they need to make a purchase. In most cases, you will need the help of professionals to get it right with your SEO web marketing strategy.

When looking for a good provider, consider the experience in SEO marketing as well as the services that your business can enjoy to enjoy all benefits that come with the strategy. A good provider should listen to all your business needs first before offering you the best solutions. If you are completely lost when it comes to this kind of marketing, your provider should be able to offer you helpful advice to get the very best from the efforts that you direct to improve your online presence for the business. Sometimes, a few changes are all what you need to get your brand out there.

If you were online many years ago, before the internet first became a household word, maybe you can remember how jumbled and chaotic all those early webpages were. Everybody wanted to put everything they possibly could on their sites. It was like a giant collage of content, and the net surfer didn’t know where to aim the mouse first!

Now, we’re in the era commonly known as “web 2.0.” This is the age of eBay, blogs, social networking, wikis and instant messaging. The web has changed, and web design has changed along with it.

Web 2.0 design is the new and improved version of the internet. Gone are the endless, long scrolling screens, or the sites with tiny texts and bland colors. Web 2.0 design is simpler and bolder. As a webmaster, you should be hip to these changes to improve your internet marketing. To that end, here are a few of the best web design sites where you can hone up on web 2.0 design ideas.

Web Design From Scratch: http://www.webdesignfromscratch.com

Web design is one of the more mystifying parts of starting your own website. Unless you are a “design person,” you may not know much about what looks good or bad, and what works and doesn’t work. This site is simple and straightforward, and has lots of easy explanations with screen shot examples.

The site is in a simple blog format. Along the left sidebar there are topics like “basics,” “design process” and “site architecture.” It not only discusses basic design principles (i.e. which designs work best), but that actual nuts and bolts of doing your own design in HTML or CSS. Everything is thoroughly covered, and the site walks you through each process step-by-step. The site also has a variety of tutorials that make it even easier.

Web Design From Scratch is a great general overview of the steps you need to take. It also shows you all the different options you have to choose from.

Photoshop Lab: http://www.photoshoplab.com

This site is colorful and easy to navigate. It has screenshots showing you exactly what to do, and simple tutorials that any idiot could use. With Photoshop Lab you can tackle some of the more complicated graphics programs that might now be intimidating.

The site has tips for using different programs, the latest news and reviews in the web design world, and a handy list of links to other sites with tutorials and tips. You can also search the site for specific information.

Photoshop Lab is a more topic-oriented site, so it’s most useful when you’re looking for some specific information about your design.

Template World: [http://www.templateworld.com]

Here’s a site that you can really use. This site offers you templates that you can use for your sites. This takes some of the headache out of having to design your site pixel for pixel.

Along the sidebar they list different categories. If, for example, you have a pet-oriented website, you can click on the “animals” category, and it shows you the most popular templates.

Template World has a huge variety of great ready-made website designs, but there’s one catch – it’s not free. You have to become a member, and membership runs about $50 for a half-year. But, that’s still cheaper than hiring a designer to make it for you.

We really shouldn’t be complaining about how tough it is; designing a website has never been easier than it is today. You can do it all by yourself with any one of these handy Web 2.0 design websites – they’re the best.